Getty Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman.
The Kansas City Chiefs needed to make room for wide receiver Mecole Hardman on the 90-player roster, and they did so by releasing running back Hassan Hall on June 6, according to KSHB 41’s Nick Jacobs.
Hall, 23, entered the NFL undrafted in 2023 out of Georgia Tech. He spent time on the Cleveland Browns’, Arizona Cardinals’, and New York Giants’ practice squads respectively during the 2023 season. On January 10, he signed a reserve/future contract with the Chiefs and had been participating in the team’s offseason program before he was released.
State of Chiefs’ Running Back Room During OTAs
The release of Hall on Thursday means the Chiefs now have a total of seven backs on the 90-player roster heading into the final day of their last set of organized team activities (OTAs) on June 7: Isiah Pacheco, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Deneric Prince, Keaontay Ingram, Louis Rees-Zammit, Emani Bailey, and Carson Steele.
Pacheco and Edwards-Helaire are expected to be the top two options out of the backfield this upcoming season, which means the team still has to decide who will be the potential RB3 and maybe RB4 among the five remaining backs.
Speaking to the media on May 30, Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy discussed what he is looking for in the third running back position.
“Somebody that can obviously run the football but also catch the football and be good in protection. Kind of a microcosm of what that position is,” Nagy explained during his press conference. “You have that third spot there, you want someone who can truly know where they’re supposed to go in protection. That’s always very important for us as coaches, for quarterbacks making sure you’re in sync with the linemen and tight ends. That part is huge, but at the same time making plays too. There’s going to be a great healthy competition, which there always is, that’ll be important. I think you really won’t truly see that until training camp.”
By the sounds of it, whoever is the best at protecting Mahomes among the remaining backs this summer will be the RB3 frontrunner on the regular season roster.
Twitter/X Reacts to Chiefs Re-Signing WR Mecole Hardman
After scoring the game-sealing touchdown in overtime against the San Francisco 49ers in the 2024 Super Bowl, Hardman took to free agency and couldn’t find a suitable landing spot for his services elsewhere. So, Kansas City brought Hardman back on a one-year deal on June 6 in hopes that he can provide enough of a spark on offense to help them accomplish a three-peat this upcoming season.
Users on X, formerly Twitter, reacted to Hardman re-signing with the Chiefs.
“Mecole Hardman adds depth to the Chiefs’ WR room and knows the playbook. He’s trusted,” Adam Best of Arrowhead Addict wrote. “The lone worry here is he’ll limit how many snaps Xavier Worthy can earn as a rookie. Gotta get a first-round WR on the field ASAP.”
“Mecole Hardman is a useful role player who’s sometimes gotten a bad rap because he couldn’t be a reliable WR2 in KC’s talent-poor receiver rooms. But as maybe WR4 or 5? Sure,” another user wrote.